Grant for participation at a congress abroad: "Brain, Cognition and movements in MS: challenges for rehabilitation" - Tel-Aviv 27 to 29 October 2019 (R-10282)

BACKGROUND: Dance therapy improves motor and cognitive function in patients with neurological diseases, but the effects on fatigability and fatigue have not been investigated. Fatigue is known as one of the most important disabling symptom in PwMS. The aim of this pilot study is to investigate whether a ten-week choreo-based dance intervention has positive effects on fatigability and fatigue, physical and cognitive capacity, sensory function, health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and dual tasking in pwMS. METHODS: Seventeen participants, between 18 and 70 years, with MS were allocated into a dance group (DG) and an art group (AG) for a ten-week intervention program, with a life performance at the end of the intervention. The DG followed choreo-based dance courses 2x1,5h/week, while the controlled AG contributed to the production by painting, music, spoken word and photo- or videography. Measurements for fatigue-related outcome measures, physical capacity, sensory function, cognitive capacity, HR-QoL and dual tasks took place before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The DG improved significantly on lower limb strength (5STS), hand function (NHPT), auditory processing speed and working memory (PASAT), dual tasks and self-reported balance (ABC), walking (MSWS-12) and fatigue (MFIS). The AG improved significantly on MFIS and dual tasking, but also showed a trend towards significant improvement in visual processing speed and working memory (SDMT). CONCLUSION: A ten-week multimodal dance intervention has positive effects on fatigue, physical capacity, cognitive function and dual tasking. Further research in larger samples in this domain is recommended.

Keywords:Neurological rehabilitation

Disciplines:Rehabilitation sciences not elsewhere classified